It is official, Jake Paul is really going to do this, on Friday December 19 he will get in a professional boxing ring with Anthony Joshua.
The 28-year-old Youtuber turned boxer has built a record of 12-1 since beginning his ‘career’ – with his victims being an assortment of celebrities, former MMA stars and former boxers. His only loss came to ‘Love Island’ star Tommy Fury.
One look at that resume tells you this is an enormous jump in class for a man who has fought pretty much his entire career at cruiserweight (200lbs). Now he gets a vicious knockout artist in Joshua (28-4), who normally weighs in at 250lbs.
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This is not a 58-year-old Mike Tyson that Jake is matching up with, it is a 36-year-old two-time world heavyweight champion who is still among the elite today.
Yes he may be on the down side of his career now (his last outing was that devastating Wembley loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024). But what Joshua did to the last ‘crossover’ star he faced should send shudders down Jake’s spine.
When Joshua face former MMA king Francis Ngannou in early 2024, his opponent had far better boxing credentials than Paul. He had just taken heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to a controversial decision having put him on the canvas early in the fight.
AJ though showed zero respect for Ngannou’s props, absolutely obliterating him inside two astonishingly violent rounds in Riyadh.
That is the sort of danger Jake is staring at come December 19 – and only fighting 8 rounds and having AJ sign a 245lbs weight clause will not help him either. Those two contract wrinkles are just not enough.
One man who admires what Paul has managed to achieve in boxing – but at the same time fears for him next month – is British heavyweight star Dave Allen.
‘The Doncaster De La Hoya’ provided a fascinating lowdown on the upcoming megafight on his Youtube channel (watch the full version at the bottom of this article). It’s an excellent watch, sage boxing wisdom and brutal honesty.
Dave Allen on Joshua vs Jake Paul
Allen reasoned: “I reckon this kid Jake Paul could win an area title, definitely. I really think he could. He trains hard, I respect all that, I respect him for what he’s doing, brilliant, you’re having a go, amazing. But he’s now fighting arguably a top three heavyweight of the last 10, 15 years.
“One, it’s dangerous. We’re talking like it’s a real fight. This whole, the whole thing I’ve been doing right now is based on it’s a real fight. They’re both gonna try and flatten each other. It’s dangerous. He’s not a heavyweight, he’s a cruiserweight, if that.”
Allen talked about the level of opposition Jake has faced so far, and the levels between that and what he is about to come up against.
This is not Mike Tyson in his 50s
“Very dangerous, because if Anthony Joshua hits him on the chin he will put him to sleep. He will hurt him, and he could really hurt him, because Mike Tyson in his late fifties, all those MMA fighters, shot to bits. When Anthony Joshua hits him he’ll have the shock of his f***ing life. He’s not naturally big enough, for one. Two, he isn’t good enough. It’s really, it is dangerous. Really, really dangerous, actually.
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“And you know what? Joshua might clip him, Paul might go over, and he might get back up at the count of 10 and it’s done and everyone’s made loads of money, everyone’s safe and everyone will forget about it. But Joshua might hit him and he might f***ing really hurt him. Then what happens? Then what happens to who sanctioned it? Then what happens to everyone involved? Then what happens?
“I hope it happens, I hope it’s a real fight and I hope Joshua wins the first round and puts him over. Jake Paul can’t continue and he gets up at 10 and everyone’s happy. That’s what I hope happens.”
A circus you cannot miss
Allen believes there is a circus feel to this match, but despite his feelings about it, it’s a blockbuster he will not be able to miss.
“I’ll watch it if he’s [Joshua] holding up and playing nicely, I’ll understand. I’ll watch it and think well he could’ve socked him – most people won’t.
“Most people will say he beat Jake Paul on points, he struggled with Jake Paul. And I will always say (he’s) one of the best heavyweights of this generation. Nobody else will, and maybe he won’t care, but overall feeling: I’ll watch it because it’s a bit of a clown show. I think it’ll be entertaining. All the things. When they get in the ring I’ll watch through my fingers and we’ll make judgement after.”
